Battleships: BRP Gregorio del Pilar vs China’s Shi Lang

August 5, 2011

We all know that in terms of military armaments, equipment, and technology, ours are very much outdated that if ever a war against China over Spratly Islands will happen, we don’t have a freakin’ chance on our own.

Let’s take a look at our newest and biggest battleship we bought from the US (BRP Gregorio del Pilar) against China’s latest purchase from the Russians (Shi Lang). Here’s a graphical scale comparison GMA News did to visualize the size difference between the two.

The 367-foot BRP Gregorio del Pilar was bought by our government for $13.18 million under the US Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program. It’s a decommissioned US Coast Guard Hamilton-class cutter and is currently our Philippine Navy’s biggest, fastest and most powerful vessel. It also has a six-barrel 20 mm Phalanx CIWS (Close In Weapons System) and can carry four helicopters.

On the other corner is China’s 1,000-foot Shi Lang which they bought from the Russians for $20 million. It is a Soviet-era aircraft carrier that can carry 36 Su-33 airplanes and sixteen helicopters, with a crew size of 3,000 to complement the full aircraft load. One of its armaments is a ten-barrel Gatling gun CIWS (Close In Weapons System).

Scary? Well we don’t have to worry about Shi Lang if we’re to believe the Chinese who bought it meant to convert it into a floating entertainment and casino. Yeah right. :P